Edward Snowden has been granted one-year temporary asylum in Russia and reportedly left the Moscow airport he's been staying in since June 23.

Snowden was in Sheremetyevo International Airport and can now enter Russian territory. “I have just handed over to him papers from the Russian Immigration Service. They are what he needs to leave the transit zone,” Snowden's lawyer, Anatoly Kucherena, said, according to the RT network.

While the US wanted Snowden extradited to face prosecution for espionage and theft of government property, Russian President Vladimir Putin promised asylum to Snowden as long as he stops leaking US secrets. Snowden, a former contractor for the National Security Agency, leaked information about how the US government conducts mass surveillance.

WikiLeaks, which has helped Snowden since his rise to public prominence, confirmed on Twitter that "Edward Snowden was granted temporary asylum in Russia for a year and has now left Moscow airport under the care of WikiLeaks' Sarah Harrison."

There's no word yet on what will happen after Snowden's one year of asylum is up. "We have won the battle—now the war," the WikiLeaks Twitter account said.

UPDATE: White House spokesman Jay Carney said the US is "extremely disappointed" Russia provided asylum to Snowden, and that the decision undermines joint law enforcement efforts between Moscow and Washington, the Wall Street Journal reported. The decision "also threatens to derail a planned September summit in Moscow between President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin, which US officials had viewed as a potential breakthrough moment in a monthslong drive to find common ground with Russia on important foreign-policy aims, such as ending the war in Syria," the Journal wrote.

Snowden's temporary asylum can be renewed at the end of the one-year period. The designation "allows him to live, work and travel in Russia and seek citizenship if he stays in the country for half a decade," the Journal article said.

i hope mother russia sends him to siberia after they milk him dry for every exquisite ounce of intel. He also has to be running low on funds since it prob cost him a pretty penny to stay at the airport for a month. i would like to see his accommodations in said airport for his month long stay.

i hope mother russia sends him to siberia after they milk him dry for every exquisite ounce of intel. He also has to be running low on funds since it prob cost him a pretty penny to stay at the airport for a month. i would like to see his accommodations in said airport for his month long stay.

Why would you wish for that?

he is no longer a whistle blower folks he is a traitor and deserves to be treated like one.

Whom did he betray?

He informed the people of the United States of America (and the world) of potentially illegal acts by their government.

He did not betray the USA. He reported a suspected crime.

Once upon a time the most patriotic thing in the world was to stand up to ones government when they were wrong.

Do you support posthumous convicions for treason on the American Founding Fathers? If not, why?

I can't wait for the pictures to come back of Snowden in a trench coat and ear muffs, braving the Siberian winter, a half-gallon of cheap Russian Vodka in one hand, yelling, "Dasvidaniya, comrades!" While in his other hand he holds a sign scribbled in shivering English that plainly reads: "Will spy on you for food! You can trust me, comrades!"

Hyperbole aside, I doubt it will come to that. Snowden doesn't even need a year's visa. He needs a week -- just long enough to get to one of the embassies of countries that have already said they'll give him asylum.

All he really needed was the ability to leave Moscow's airport. I think it's just a question of where he goes next.

I can't wait for the pictures to come back of Snowden in a trench coat and ear muffs, braving the Siberian winter, a half-gallon of cheap Russian Vodka in one hand, yelling, "Dasvidaniya, comrades!" While in his other hand he holds a sign scribbled in shivering English that plainly reads: "Will spy on you for food! You can trust me, comrades!"

Hyperbole aside, I doubt it will come to that. Snowden doesn't even need a year's visa. He needs a week -- just long enough to get to one of the embassies of countries that have already said they'll give him asylum.

All he really needed was the ability to leave Moscow's airport. I think it's just a question of where he goes next.

Yeah but they probably dont give out week long visas. 1 year is probably the lower level.

The question of Patriot or Trader is a red herring that's totally dependent on your POV and worldview. There's no correct answer and at this point it's unlikely that anyone will change someones strong held views on the subject. I'll leave that for historians to debate 20 years from now.

What we do know is he's a complicated person with a specific world view. The more interesting question for me is if he turns out to be a footnote of history or a vehicle for sea change? His intention was to change things. How successful he actually was will be determines in terms of years. Will mainstream media still be talking about this after the Guardian runs out of leaks to release? Will there be any meaningful change to the law? Will the Russians use him as a pawn for a spy exchange?

I wonder if Snowden will uphold his end of the bargain by not leaking any more US secrets?

History has shown Putin is not someone you want to cross, especially in Russia.

Given the proxy war that's going on Syria.. I can guarantee you Putin was being sarcastic when he said that.

If you were in Russia, would you take the chance that Putin was being sarcastic about anything?

As an ex-KGB agent himself, Putin must not think highly of Snowden as a classified document leaker or whistleblower. Putin is playing this up as political capital. As soon as his political cronies have milked this for all its worth, Snowden will not be worth the trouble in their eyes.

Running like a rat to china and then to mother russia looking for someone to save him from the his own created legal troubles, leaking info along the way to foreign intelligence agency's for his continued safety does not make him a patriot folks it makes him a traitor.

Nothing in that statement addresses the question that was posed to you. And your arguments do not logically support your conclusion.

He wouldn't even need to get to an embassy. They're probably being watched very closely to catch him if he approaches one, or at least figure out where he's going.

If I was Snowden, I'd set up a meet with a low-level diplomat somewhere discreet and but not atypical for a diplomat to be and includes a private parking area. Have Snowden get in the diplomat car with very tinted windows, and just drive in to the embassy together without ever leaving the car.

i hope mother russia sends him to siberia after they milk him dry for every exquisite ounce of intel. He also has to be running low on funds since it prob cost him a pretty penny to stay at the airport for a month. i would like to see his accommodations in said airport for his month long stay.

Why would you wish for that?

he is no longer a whistle blower folks he is a traitor and deserves to be treated like one.

Whom did he betray?

He informed the people of the United States of America (and the world) of potentially illegal acts by their government.

He did not betray the USA. He reported a suspected crime.

Once upon a time the most patriotic thing in the world was to stand up to ones government when they were wrong.

Do you support posthumous convicions for treason on the American Founding Fathers? If not, why?

I applaud you sir, as loudly as I can from behind my keyboard. You asked a very simple to answer question and stated simple facts instead of trolling inflaming comments to rally people to your point of view.

With more people like you, we might have actually gotten here by now instead of everyone just yelling their own stubborn opinion as loudly and as often as they can.

I can't wait till someone leaks Snowden's location and Snowden makes an angry statement about how leakers should be shot!

Ever wonder if that was just patriotic cover? Top Secret clearance requires a single scope background investigation and they do look through internet activity and opinions expressed, provided they're chronicled on something as easily searchable as a public forum behind a consistently used name.

Either that, or he was severely disillusioned once he began working and began to know more. Minds can change. If you can't look back across your life and disagree with something you said or did which you believed true at the time, then you haven't actually learned anything. I think there are a lot more cleared workers with moral qualms about what they're asked to work on, but very very few would risk the life-shattering consequences of taking one of the world's most powerful and violently aggressive nations to task regarding over-classification and potential secret violations of the constitution.

He informed the people of the United States of America (and the world) of potentially illegal acts by their government.

He did not betray the USA. He reported a suspected crime.

The spying revealed, by Britain and France however may fall in a more gray area as far as a "betrayal" or "crime". One has to be careful applying US mores to other countries however similar to us they may be.

It is discouraging that none of the NSA employees and contractors has the cajones to step forward and say yes, Ed Snowden was right.

Not taking sides or justifying either of them, but those guys and girls won't now. Look at what he has been thru and will forever continue going thru. Yes He's been granted Asylum for now, but to be an American in most parts of the world isn't like it used to be 15 years ago. People worldwide aren't very fond of Americans anymore.

It is discouraging that none of the NSA employees and contractors has the cajones to step forward and say yes, Ed Snowden was right.

Not taking sides or justifying either of them, but those guys and girls won't now. Look at what he has been thru and will forever continue going thru. Yes He's been granted Asylum for now, but to be an American in most parts of the world isn't like it used to be 15 years ago. People worldwide aren't very fond of Americans anymore.